I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on my blog until now but my Facebook and IRL friends as well as my Twitter followers may know that one of the complications of my pregnancy is that I’m suffering from Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD). It’s a pretty common thing in pregnancy and was even described as a condition by none other than Hippocrates (yep – the guy with the oath). It is a condition whereby the pelvis becomes quite a bit more flexible than it should and begins to stretch apart at the symphysis pubis.

For me, the symptoms began in the 6th week of my pregnancy. At first it was just a general sense of tiredness, mostly in my right leg. This progressed to a constant dull ache and then on to sheer unadulterated agony in my hips and groin. I’m on crutches most days and try to seek out wheelchairs if I’m out and about in shopping centres or public attractions (e.g. when I was at a geothermal park in Rotorua, MovieWorld, Australia Zoo, etc).

Usually, a good night’s sleep kinda resets the pain back to a manageable level and then it builds up until by night time I’m crawling up the stairs and needing my partner’s help to turn over in bed. Today, I wasn’t so lucky. Today, I woke in pain. I cried out with each movement of my legs from about 6am onwards.

There was no position which gave relief. I struggled to find any comfort. Eventually, exhaustion from the effort of simply being took over and I was able to get about an hour or so of a nap. After this, we went to the local pool so I could experience a bit of relief. The gently heated pool offers some respite from the pain. I also get to feel weightless for a little bit which is a joy not to be underestimated!

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the birth of our baby in 29 days and regaining my legs shortly after that. 🙂

Not to make light of what is a very painful condition, but this post reminded me of bumping into a former neighbour and I’d heard his pregnant wife was having trouble with leg pain in her job as a teaching assistant. He said (with a very straight face) that she had ‘simplistic pubes’! I knew that symphysis pubis pain often affects soccer players, but it wasn’t until I saw the wife after she’d had the baby that it was actually SPD – and yes her condition went away straight after giving birth 🙂 Not long to go now – you must both be getting excited! Keep resting in the meantime.